Manhole

ABSTRACT

System for adjusting the level of the upper edge of a manhole installed in a roadbed. The system comprises a first element mounted on the upper edge of a vertical housing embedded in the ground which upper edge arrives at a level below the level of the road surface, and a second element removably placed in the first element. Flexible adjusting elements are provided and each element is provided with a discontinuity in its whole thickness. The flexibility and the discontinuity of the adjusting elements permit these elements to bend for insertion in the space formed between an upper surface of the first element and a lower surface of the second element, when the second element is lifted by a predetermined value.

United States Patent [1 1 Binette MANHOLE [76] Inventor: Andre Binette, 27 rue Principale,

Saint-Joseph-Du-Lac, Comte des Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: July 15, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 488,803

[52] US. Cl. 404/26 [51] Int. C1. E021) 29/14 [58] Field of Search 404/26, 25; 161/110, 111

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,493,447 5/1924 Heppes 161/111 2,488,796 ll/l949 Baier 404/25 2,930,295 3/1960 Hale 404/26 3,240,133 3/1966 Ross 404/26 3,308,727 3/1967 Hurt, Jr. 404/25 3,408,778 ll/l968 Mason 404/26 3,449,157 6/1969 Wandel 161/133 3,629,981 12/1971 McCaffery 404/26 3,773,428 ll/l973 Bowman 404/26 Primary Examiner-W. C. Reynolds Assistant ExaminerSteven Hawkins Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Raymond A. Robic; Arthur Schwartz; Louis Allahut [57] ABSTRACT System for adjusting the level of the upper edge of a manhole installed in a roadbed. The system comprises a first element mounted on the upper edge of a vertical housing embedded in the ground which upper edge arrives at a level below the level of the road surface, and a second element removably'placed in the first element. Flexible adjusting elements are provided and each element is provided with a discontinuity in its whole thickness. The flexibility and the discontinuity of the adjusting elements permit these elements to bend for insertion in the space formed between an upper surface of the first element and a lower surface of the second element, when the second element is lifted by a predetermined value.

9 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16,1975 Sheet 1 012 3,926,533

US, Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet2 0f2 3,926,533

MANHOLE The present invention concerns a system or assembly for raising or lowering the level of the upper edge of a manhole used in sewer systems, aqueducts or rain drainage systems or the like.

It is well known that a manhole opens at the surface of the road for permitting a person to go down through the manhole into the channels or underground aqueducts. The upper edge of the manhole must be at the exact level of the upper surface of the road for preventing any accidents to the vehicles and to pedestrians.

When the road is worn out and it subsides, it is a general practice to lay a layer of asphalt covering or concrete on the subsided road for bringing back the surface thereof to a usable level. When a layer of asphalt covering or concrete is laid down on the road, the upper edge of the manhole becomes lower than the surface of the new road. This fact causes undesirable accidents.

The same accidental situation prevails when the level of the road becomes by wearing lower than the upper edge of the manhole. In such a case the level of the upper edge of the manhole should be lowered.

For bringing the upper edge or surface of the manhole to the level of the upper surface of the repaired road, it is generally made use of supports or extension elements which are fitted in one way or the other on the upper edge of the manhole in order to raise the edge and to bring its level to the same level as the surface of the new road. This way of placing supports on the upper edge of a manhole is expensive, not too practical and of a doubtful stability. In fact, in the prior art, there are supports which have an annular form and which comprise a base having a series of superposed dovetail shaped channels in which slide elements provided with horizontally disposed ledge portions, these elements providing the raising of the level of the upper edge of the manhole and the ledge portions providing a support for the manhole cover. However, this system is expensive because it is necessary to provide elements having dovetail channels of special form which should be very strong for supporting the loads circulating on the road.

In a further known system, the superposed elements for raising the level of the upper edge of a manhole are fixed in place by means of bolts and pins and the thickness of the elements should not be less than a predetermined value. The support elements should also be made of a strong material in order to be able to support the cover of the manhole and the charges or loads to which the cover and the vicinity of the manhole are subjected.

Other systems consist of placing an annular support on the upper edge of a manhole, this support being provided with elements forming a seating or base for receiving the cover of the manhole.

It should be noted that in all the above mentioned systems the raising of the level of the upper edge of the manhole is provided by placing extension elements on the upper of the manhole, which systems do not permit very small raisings due to the fact that the support elements should be constructed very solidly and therefore be of a certain thickness for resisting the loads on the road and also for being able to be fixed on the upper edge of the manhole.

The system or assembly of the present invention distinguishes itself from the existing systems by the fact A! that it is practical, inexpensive, solid and easy to transport.

With the system of the present invention it is possible to raise or lower, in any desired length, the level of the upper edge of a manhole, no matter how small the raising or lowering is, without causing great expenses. The present system also permits the raising and lowering of the upper edge of a manhole with easiness. In fact, the present system comprises elements which are light and which are adapted to fit to each other very easily and solidly.

Furthermore, with the present system it is possible to obtain very small adjustments of levels.

One object of the present invention is that it comprises several elements which are fitted to each other, some of these elements forming part of the manhole initially installed in the ground and some of the ele ments being added to the first elements in order to raise the level of the upper edge of the manhole. It should be noted that by placing extension elements not exactly on the upper edge of a manhole but at a certain distance below its upper edge, it is possible to obtain a solid structure without great outlays. In fact, the extension elements of the system of the present invention may be made of inexpensive material. Furthermore, the extension elements of the present invention being placed at a level below the level of the road and consequently not being in direct contact with the loads circulating on the road are only adapted to distribute the charges instead of supporting them themselves which permits their construction with materials which are more flexible and light.

Furthermore, it is not any more necessary to completely dismantle or disassemble the component elements of the system of the present invention in order to be able to set the extension elements in place. In fact, the extension elements being flexible and presenting a discontinuity in their whole thickness, it is possible to bend them in order to place them between two elements which are not completely dismantled.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents an elevation view showing a part of the manhole (the tubular housing) in perspective and another part (the extension system) in cross section, the elements forming the complete manhole being shown in an exploded manner,

FIG. 2 is an elevational cross sectional view of the extension system according to the invention for raising the level of the upper edge of the manhole,

FIG. 3 is an elevation view in cross section of a further embodiment of the extension system according to the invention,

FIG. 4 is a cross section of a further embodiment for raising the upper edge of a manhole provided in the road,

FIG. 5 is a component part of the extension system according to the invention,

FIG. 6 is a cross section in detail of a part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4,

FIG. 7 is a cross section in detail of certain component parts of the system according to the invention,

FIG. 8 is a cross section in detail of some of the component parts of the system according to one embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of some of the component parts of the system of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, it is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 a manhole installed in a roadbed. The manhole is composed of a housing 1 in the form of a cylinder which has a stepped upper edge 3 provided with a slanted or inclined rim 5. The upper edge 3 of housing 1 is placed at a level below the level of the natural ground on which the road is laid down. The housing 1 may have different forms, for instance, it may be rectangular, square, etc, and its upper edge 3 may be fiat and not stepped, as indicated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8.

The extension system or assembly according to the present invention which is superposed on the housing 1 comprises a first element 7, which may have L-shaped form, the horizontal arm or flange 13 of which is directed towards the inside of the manhole as represented in FIGS. 1 and 2 or may have a reversed T shaped form as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Element 7 is made of concrete in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and it is made of metal in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. This element may also be made of any suitable material.

The first element 7 is provided with a seating or base 9 on which a second element 11 is seated. The second element 11 will be described in detail in later paragraphs. The seating 9 is formed by the inner surface of the horizontal arm 13 of the L shaped form or by one of the horizontal arms 13 of the reversed T shaped form.

The second element 11 which has been mentioned in the preceding paragraph is removably seated on the first element 7. The lower end or surface of element 11 rests either directly or by means of a support ring 15, on the seating 9 of the element 7.

Support ring 15 is fixed on the seating 9 of element 7 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by means of an undercut 17 provided in the vertical arm of the first L-shaped element 7. In this way, the support ring 15 is rigidly fixed on the seating 9.

Second element 11, the inside vertical surface 20 of which may have different forms, for instance curved as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 or flat on its upper part and curved on its lower part as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4, is made of metal or any other suitable material. Second element 11 is provided with lugs or projections 19 having holes in which pass bolts 21 (FIGS. 3 and 4) or staples 23 (FIG. 2) for providing the fixation of element 11 on the support ring 15 provided with fixation apertures 16 (see FIG. 5). The support ring is itself fixed on the first element 7 as above explained. In this way, it is possible to have an assembly of elements 7 and 11, which are solidly fixed to each other. However, as the second element 11 is removable, it should be able to be displaced from the first element 7. To this end, the second element 11 is provided with openings 25 (FIG. 1) provided at its base or its lower part, the openings 25 being adapted to receive lever arms (not represented) for raising the second element 11 when the bolt 21 or the staple 23, according to the case, is removed. The reason for providing the displacement of the second element 11 with respect to the first element 7 will become evident in the following paragraphs as the description proceeds.

In the case where the first element 7 is T shaped as represented in FIGS. 3 and 4, there are provided braces 27 for the stability of element 7. The braces 27 are connected to the vertical arm 29 of the T-shaped element 7 and to the horizontal arm 14 which lies with respect to the vertical arm 29 opposite horizontal arm 13 forming the seating.

The upper edge 35 of the second element 11 is provided with a groove 31 forming a seat on which rests a cover 33. The upper edge 35 of the second element 11 is flush with the final surface of the road. It should be noted that the upper edge 35 may have different forms as represented in FIGS. 1 and 2 and in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The upper edge 37 of the first element 7 is slightly lower than the upper edge 35 of the second element 11 and is located with respect to the upper edge 35 as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and FIGS. 3 and 4. The asphalt covering or the concrete forming the road, covers the upper edge 37 of the first element and arrives at the same level as the upper edge 35 of the second element 11.

A flexible sealing means or member 39 is fixed on the inner surface of the first element 7. The fixation of the sealing means may be made through a projection 41 of the sealing means, which projection may fit, in a removable manner, a groove 43 provided on the upper portion of the vertical arm of the element 7. The flexible sealing means provides the sealing between the two elements 7 and 11 and also permits the easy displacement, by sliding, of the second element 1 1 with respect to the first element 7 by means of the lever arms inserted inside the openings 25.

Adjusting means or elements are provided and are adapted to be inserted in the space formed between the lower face 44 of the horizontal arm 13 of the element 7 and the upper edge 3 of the housing 1 (FIG. 1). The adjustment means are spacers or shims which have different forms and particularly different thicknesses ranging from fraction of inches to several inches.

The spacers or shims 45 are used for raising the level of the upper edge of the second element 11.

The upper and lower surfaces of each spacer may be provided respectively with grooves 47 and projections 49 for solidly interfitting into each other when they are superposed (see FIGS. 7 and 8 for details). Naturally, any other means, such as apertures on one of the spacers and projections on the other (not represented) may be used for solidly superposing two successive spacers.

The spacer or shim represented in FIG. 9 is a spacer having a substantial thickness and which is in the form of a W, the lateral walls 51 being connected to the median or middle walls 53 by means of transverse braces 55. The rigidity is thus ensured for a spacer having a substantial thickness.

The spacers are made of a flexible material such as plastic or any other similar material which although being light present a good resistance to the compression forces to which they are submitted due to the loads circulating on the road. Furthermore, each spacer is provided with a discontinuity or cut 46 in its whole thickness (FIG. 1), the discontinuity and the flexibility of the spacer permitting a spacer to flex or bend for decreasing or increasing its section in a plane perpendicular to its thickness, in such a way as to be adapted to be inserted between the upper surface of the first element 7 and the lower surface of the second element 11 when the second element 11 is slightly lifted, yet not being completely removed from its place.

Sealing means such as sealing rings 57 are placed between two spacers for providing the sealing of the assembly.

FIG. 6 represents the upper edge 35 of the vertical arm of the second element 11 on which is placed a spacer 59 for extending the edge 35. Groove 31 in which the cover 33. is placed is provided with a retaining support 61 on which is mounted one or several other spacers 63 (FIGS. 4 and 6). The retaining support 61 raises the level of the groove 31 to the desired value. The cover 33 is placed on the spacer 63.

The way of adjusting the level of the upper edge of the system, according to the invention forming the manhole, is as follows:

Housing 1 is installed in the ground with its upper edge 3 arriving at a level substantially lower than the level 64 (FIGS. 1 to 4) of the natural ground.

The length of the first element 7 is known in advance. Therefore, in order to bring the upper edge of the first element at a level slightly below the level of the surface of the final road, it suffices to choose a spacer 45 having a desired thickness and to insert the spacer (or two spacers such as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4 or three spacers such as indicated in FIG. 2 or several spacers, not represented), between the lower surface of the horizontal arm of element 7 and the upper edge 3 of housing 1. The support ring is afterwards fixed, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the seating 9 of element 7. There is no need of a support ring 15 for the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The fixation of the support ring 15 on the seating 9 may be made before that element 7 is set in place. It should be noted that the first element 7 may be directly set on the housing 1 if the desired level is obtained without the aid of spacers.

The second element 11 is afterwards lowered by sliding through the flexible sealing element 39 and is set on one or several spacers placed on the support ring 15 (FIG. 2). The second element is afterwards fixed to the first element by means of bolts 21 or staples 23 as above described.

When there is a new layer of asphalt covering or con crete to be laid down on the surface of a worn out road, it is imperative to raise or extend the upper edge 35of the second element 11 of the system forming the manhole according to the invention. This extension is made by lifting the second element 11 by means of lever arms, yet avoiding the complete removal of the second element from its place, and by inserting, after bending or flexing, one or several spacers between the lower surface of the second element 11 and the support ring 15 (as shown in FIG. 2) or the seating 9 (as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) thus permitting the extension of the upper edge 35 by the desired length. The second element is afterwards lowered back to its place and fixed back to the first element by means of the bolts 21 or staples 23.

If it is desired to lower the upper edge of the manhole, it is the reverse operation which is performed and the spacers existing between the lower surface of the element 11 and the support ring 15 are easily removed due to their flexibility and the discontinuity above mentioned.

Once the upper edge 35 of the second element is raised to the desired level, the layer of asphalt covering or the concrete laid down on the road will have its final surface at the same level as the upper edge 35.

Although the inventionwas described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by-way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and .the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A system for adjusting the level of the upper edge of a manhole installed in a roadbed, comprising: i

a vertical housing, adapted to beembedded in the ground, with an upper edge at a level below the level of the roadbed surface; v

a first element removably mounted on the upper edge of said vertical housing;

a second element removably placed within said first element;

a flexible adjusting element, removably placed within said first element, inserted between an upper surface of said first element and a lower surface of said second element, being of a configuration having good resistance to compression forces, and provided with a cut in its whole thickness, said flexibility and said out permitting said adjusting element to bend for said insertion between said first and second element as said second element is lifted a predetermined distance insufficient for complete removal from its place within said first element for adjusting the level of the upper edge of the manhole.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said flexible adjusting element is accessible from within the manhole.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said flexible adjusting element has a W-shaped form and is provided with transverse braces between walls of the W- shape for ensuring the rigidity of the flexible adjusting element, said flexible adjusting element being made of a plastic material.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said flexible adjusting element is formed of a thin plate of plastic.

5. A system according to claim 1, including at least a second flexible adjusting element of different form and thicknesses from the first flexible adjusting element, each of said flexible adjusting elements being provided with grooves on one of its faces and projections on the other of its faces in such a way that two superposed flexible adjusting elements fit into each other.

6. A system according to claim 1, including an additional flexible adjusting element between said vertical housing and said first element and wherein sealing rings are provided between two superposed flexible adjusting elements for ensuring the sealing of the assembly, said sealing rings also being provided between said flexible adjusting element and the upper edge of said vertical housing and between said flexible adjusting elements and the upper and lower faces of said first and second elements respectively.

7. A system for adjusting the level of the upper edge of a manhole installed in a roadbed, comprising:

a vertical housing, adapted to be embedded in the ground, with an upper edge at a level below the level of the roadbed surface;

a first element, removably mounted on the upper edge of said vertical housing, with an L-shaped form which has a horizontal arm directed towards the inside of the manhole;

a second element removably placed within said first element and seated on said horizontal arm;

a support ring secured on said horizontal arm;

7 connecting means passing through apertures in said support ring and lugs in said second element for securing said second element to said first element; a flexible adjusting element, removably placed within said first element and inserted between an upper surface of said first element and a lower surface of said second element, said flexible adjusting ele ment being provided with a cut in its whole thickness, said flexibility and said cut pennitting said adjusting element to bend for said insertion between ing means are staples. 

1. A system for adjusting the level of the upper edge of a manhole installed in a roadbed, comprising: a vertical housing, adapted to be embedded in the ground, with an upper edge at a level below the level of the roadbed surface; a first element removably mounted on the upper edge of said vertical housing; a second element removably placed within said first element; a flexible adjusting element, removably placed within said first element, inserted between an upper surface of said first element and a lower surface of said second element, being of a configuration having good resistance to compression forces, and provided with a cut in its whole thickness, said flexibility and said cut permitting said adjusting element to bend for said insertion between said first and second element as said second element is lifted a predetermined distance insufficient for complete removal from its place within said first element for adjusting the level of the upper edge of the manhole.
 2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said flexible adjusting element is accessible from within the manhole.
 3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said flexible adjusting element has a W-shaped form and is provided with transverse braces between walls of the W-shape for ensuring the rigidity of the flexible adjusting element, said flexible adjusting element being made of a plastic material.
 4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said flexible adjusting element is formed of a thin plate of plastic.
 5. A system according to claim 1, including at least a second flexible adjusting element of different form and thicknesses from the first flexible adjusting element, each of said flexible adjusting elements being provided with grooves on one of its faces and projections on the other of its faces in such a way that two superposed flexible adjusting elements fit into each other.
 6. A system according to claim 1, including an additional flexible adjusting element between said vertical housing and said first element and wherein sealing rings are provided between two superposed flexible adjusting elements for ensuring the sealing of the assembly, said sealing rings also being provided between said flexible adjusting element and the upper edge of said vertical housing and between said flexible adjusting elements and the upper and lower faces of said first and second elements respectively.
 7. A system for adjusting the level of the upper edge of a manhole installed in a roadbed, comprising: a vertical housing, adapted to be embedded in the ground, with an upper edge at a level below the level of the roadbed surface; a first element, removably mounted on the upper edge of said vertical housing, with an L-shaped form which has a horizontal arm directed towards the inside of the manhole; a second element removably placed within said first element and seated on said horizontal arm; a support ring secured on said horizontal arm; connecting means passing through apertures in said support ring and lugs in said second element for securing said second element to said first element; a flexible adjusting element, removably placed within said first element and inserted between an upper surface of said first element and a lower surface of said second element, said flexible adjusting element being provided with a cut in its whole thickness, said flexibility and said cut permitting said adjusting element to bend for said insertion between said first and second elements as said second element is lifted a predetermined distance insufficient for complete removal from its place within said first element for adjusting the level of the upper edge of the manhole.
 8. System according to claim 7, wherein the connecting means are bolts.
 9. System according to claim 7, wherein the connecting means are staples. 